Electrical connectors typically include a connector housing and a plurality of electrical contacts supported by the connector housing. The electrical contacts can include one or more signal contacts alone or in combination with one or more ground contacts. The signal contacts can be provided as single-ended contacts or can be provided as differential signal pairs. The electrical contacts define a mating end disposed at a mating interface of the electrical connector, and an opposed mounting end disposed at a mounting interface of the electrical connector. The mating ends are configured to mate with complementary mating ends of corresponding electrical contacts of an electrical component, which can be another electrical connector or alternative electrical device, and the mounting ends can be configured to connect to a substrate, such as a printed circuit board.
Certain conventional electrical connectors include a plurality of adjacent leadframe assemblies, such as insert molded leadframe assemblies (IMLAs) that each includes a dielectric leadframe housing that is overmolded onto a plurality of the electrical contacts. The leadframe assemblies can be supported in the connector housing, such that the electrical contacts define a desired array of signal and ground contacts. Unfortunately, signal contacts can be so closely spaced that undesirable interference, or “cross talk,” occurs between adjacent signal contacts. Cross talk occurs when a signal in one signal contact induces electrical interference in an adjacent signal contact due to interfering electrical fields, thereby compromising signal integrity. Cross talk may also occur between differential signal pairs, and increases with reduced distance between the interfering signal contacts. Cross talk may be reduced by separating adjacent signal contacts or adjacent differential signal pairs with ground contacts.
Conventionally, metallic crosstalk shields have been added to an electrical connector to further reduce crosstalk. For instance, external plates in the form of crosstalk shields can be placed between adjacent leadframe assembles. In some instances, it is known to electrically common the ground contacts using an electrically conductive ground shorting plate that is disposed on the front face of the connector housing and electrically connected to one or more, up to all, of the ground contacts, and electrically isolated from the signal contacts.